Out of My Mind

The story's here and, more importantly, here. Apparently the doctor in charge of Whittington, incredibly, is a partisan wingnut. What a small world, surprise, surprise. And a little more is here.

Wait, wait, wait, you want a picture of Dick's Ambassador of Love. Of course!



And then there's this from the Wall Street Journal:

Proper Way
To Hunt Quail:
'Don't Shoot Low'

By JUNE KRONHOLZ
February 16, 2006; Page B1

When a covey of Texas bobwhite quail is flushed from the underbrush, the birds take off with explosive speed, typically no more than 30 yards from a hunter, and then scatter. "It's very fast ... you have virtually seconds to react," says Gary Goodpaster of Ducks Unlimited, a Memphis, Tenn., conservation group. That's why, he adds, "you have to constantly be aware of where your partners are."
A hunter "should be moving his eyes around to be sure where the dogs are and where the hunters are so if the birds flush, you have confidence" about taking the shot, he adds.

Quail hunting is a genteel sport, where shooters with expensive guns and well-trained dogs hunt a skittish bird that is about the size of a fist and has the speed of a Little League pitch. "There's a lot of etiquette and tradition," says Mr. Goodpaster. While Vice President Dick Cheney may have been following most of the rules, veteran hunters say he may have neglected others when he shot 78-year-old lawyer Harry Whittington in a hunting accident Saturday.

Typically, only two or three shooters move together through the field during a quail hunt, hunters say. They stay fairly close to one another -- from five to 15 yards apart -- as they follow two or three dogs through the underbrush. A shooter generally chats back and forth with his partners "so the guy knows exactly where the other hunter is," says Rocky Evans, president of Quail Unlimited, an Edgefield, S.C., conservation group.

When the dogs have caught the scent of their prey -- or "gone birdie" -- hunters move in and flush, or startle, the covey so the birds take flight and can be shot in the air. "Before flushing, you should check to see where the other hunter is," says Mr. Evans, whose group hosts hunts where shooters undergo a safety briefing before taking to the field.

Each hunter usually has a 90-degree firing range. A hunter on the right, for example, shoots from directly in front of him to the right. "If the birds take a hard turn to the left, then the guy on the left takes the shot, not the guy on the right," says Mr. Evans.

"Don't shoot low," he adds, a rule meant to prevent injuring other hunters and their dogs. He defines low: "If you're standing and you're shooting straight out" instead of at an upward angle.

Gun safety is a mantra with hunters, and especially with the experienced, well-to-do sportsmen who shoot game birds. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, in a list of safety rules, cautions hunters to "be sure of your target and what is in front of and beyond your target." Hunters pick out and aim for one bird from the 12 or 15 in a typical covey, and "if you expect to hit one, you have to be looking at the bird," says Mr. Goodpaster.

"You're not looking at the other hunters," he adds. But as a hunter stares down the barrel of a shotgun, "you're aware of where they are, even if you're not looking at them."

* * *

Under "contributing factors" on the accident form, the Texas game warden investigating the incident checked off the box for "Victim covered by shooter who was swinging on game," rather than the box for "Victim moved into the line of fire."

* * *

There are no clear rules on how a hunter who has left the group should announce his return to the line fire, says Ducks Unlimited's Mr. Goodpaster. "Experienced hunters will typically make it a point to always let their fellow hunters know where they are," he says. "Just something, anything at all to let them know he was there."

At the same time, he adds, "most responsible and experienced hunters would typically look back over their shoulders to check up on the fellow who lagged behind." Mr. Cheney and Mr. Wittington are both reported to have been avid, longtime bird shooters.

"Low, and not knowing where the other hunter was -- that was the recipe for disaster," says Mr. Evans, of Quail Unlimited. "Before I flushed the birds, I would want to know where everybody is," he adds. "If you're holding the gun, it's your responsibility," he recalls telling a lawyer representing someone in a similar incident.

* * *

The Texas wildlife report -- which was filed Monday, two days after the incident -- says Mr. Cheney wasn't "under the apparent influence of intoxicants or drugs," although it doesn't indicate whether that meant during the interview with investigators, or during the hunt. In the Fox News interview yesterday, Mr. Cheney himself condemned the idea of mixing hunting and drinking, but said he had a beer at lunch, several hours before going out.